Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2010-11: Valeri Nichushkin played for Traktor Chelyabinsk's U18 team and represented Russia in the U16 Four Nations Tournament. He scored 45 goals with 45 assists and had 30 penalty minutes in 46 games for Traktor during the regular season and had 1 goal and 1 assist in six games as Chelyabinsk finished third in the Russian U18 championship. Nichushkin was scoreless in two games at the Four Nations Tournament.

2011-12: Nichushkin played for Belie Medvedi in Russia's U22 MHL as a 16-year-old and represented Russia in three international tournaments. In 38 MHL games he scored 4 goals with 6 assists and was minus-10 with 6 penalty minutes. Nichushkin scored 3 goals with 3 assists (second only to Grigori Dikushin who had nine points) for Russia's gold medal-winning team at the U17 World Hockey Challenge. In four games at the U19 World Junior A Challenge he was scoreless with 2 penalty minutes and he scored 2 goals and was plus-one for Russia at the U18 World Junior Championship.

2012-13: Nichushkin made his KHL debut as a 17-year old; splitting the season between Traktor Chelyabinsk and its second club Chelmet. He also appeared in nine games for the Belie Medvedi junior team and represented Russia in both the Subway Series against Canadian junior all-stars and at the 2013 World Junior Championship in Ufa. In 18 regular season games he scored 4 goals with 2 assists and had 6 goals with 2 assists in 19 playoff games. Nichushkin scored 8 goals with 2 assists in 15 VHL games for Chelmet and had 4 goals and 4 assists in nine games for Belie Medvedi. In six games for bronze medal-winning Russia at the WJC he scored 1 goal with 1 assist and was plus-five with 25 penalty minutes. Nichushkin was ranked fourth amongst European skaters in Central Scouting's mid-term rankings prior to the 2013 NHL Draft, and second in the CSS final rankings.

Talent Analysis

He's a bull. A massive frame, with really good skating and speed, plus a boatload of skill and a great shot. Nichushkin is just tough to stop 1-on-1. Heck, he's tough to stop 1-on-2 in his own age group. He's got a powerful skating stride and with a little more strength and conditioning we'll probably see even more noteworthy breakaway speed from him. One thing that really sticks out that shows his understanding of how to be an offensive threat is his ability to change the tempo and shift a gear when he has the puck. He knows when to push it and he knows when to downshift and really mess with a defenseman's gap and then burn him with strength, speed and skill. He lulls you in and you can't stop him. It's his understanding of the geometry of everything that is most impressive about his game. He knows where to put the puck where you can't reach it, he knows when to lean on you and when not to, he knows when to speed up and when to take it down. It's a great quality that you see in other super-skilled players like Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. He's not just going to go at you with skill directly, it's all calculated.

When he can't penetrate the bountiful areas of the offensive zone, he has a laser shot with a terrific release that makes him a scoring threat from distance too. Without the puck, he realizes that in order for him to make another headlong rush down the ice with it that he needs to get it back and he does so. His defensive play is straight to the point, it's not complicated but there's some guesswork involved. He's skilled, he knows what a skilled player is thinking and he reacts on that. He makes a read and attacks it and if it doesn't work out, he isn't going to hound you like Ryan Callahan, he's going to lie in the weeds and wait for his next opportunity. In that sense, he's going to chase the puck a little bit, he's going to lose his guy sometimes, but it's for a good cause in his mind. Sometimes he'll win, sometimes he'll lose. When he's keyed in and really working, he'll win more often than not. His defensive play is a little bit like Alexander Semin's, which carries an unjustly negative connotation but it's not a bad thing...at least he's participating.

He's not always going to be cooking at 100% though, he can turn it on and off, but many skill players are like that. He needs to continue to improve his strength like all young players so that he can power through checks like he does against his own age group. He could improve his balance after contact a little bit in that regard as well, sometimes he loses his edge in situations where a power forward should not. His playmaking ability is a bit of question mark still. He reads the game quite well, so he has vision, but on some of his rushes he doesn't even bother look to see if anyone is open or even on the rink with him. He just turns on his "power forward" switch and bullies his way to the front of the net and finishes the play or makes a mess of the opposing defensemen and even goaltender. He could improve his passing game because he's not going to be able to make that cut at the bottom of the circle and get to the net in the NHL every time, the pros learn fast.

Photo: Forward Jason Dickinson, the Stars 29th overall pick in 2013, is off to a point-per-game start in his third year with the Guelph Storm (courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images)

The Dallas Stars continue to manufacture impressive draft class after impressive draft class. With the diverse group that they possess, the Stars have players at many different stages of their development in all corners of the globe.

Photo: Valeri Nichushkin, Dallas’ 10th overall selection in 2013, is one of seven top-10 picks to break camp with their NHL team in 2013-14 (courtesy of Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The Fall edition of the Hockey's Future ranking of the Top 50 NHL prospects continues with the prospects ranked 11-20. NHL success is at a premium as we break into the top 20 with a group made up mostly of players primed for an NHL breakout.

Photo: Valeri Nichushkin, the Stars’ 10th overall pick in 2013, will make the transition to North America in 2013-14 (courtesy of ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)

The Dallas Stars, now under the new management of long time Red Wings assistant General Manager Jim Nill, continue to augment their stellar prospect group. Adding blue-chip prospect Valeri Nichushkin really helps to push the Stars further into the elite category among league-wide cupboards.

Photo: Dallas Stars prospect Valeri Nichushkin was the first Russian player chosen at the 2013 NHL Draft, going 10th overall to the Stars (courtesy of Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)

The number of players drafted out of the KHL at the 2013 NHL Draft wasn’t large, but confirmations and surprises were there as always in each NHL Draft. The scarce number of players coming out of the top Russian league is due not only to the infamous “Russian Factor”, but also to the fact that many junior players are now playing in the CHL, something that wasn’t happening as often until recent years.

Photo: New General Manager Jim Nill (right) and the Stars’ 10th overall selection, Russian winger Valeri Nichushkin, will play key roles in the club’s future (courtesy of Rich Graessle/Icon SMI)

It might be a new ranch, but it is not his first rodeo. Dallas Stars new General Manager Jim Nill embarked on his first substantial opportunity to put his mark on his new team at the National Hockey League Entry Draft in Newark, NJ in the midst of an otherwise indiscernible June afternoon and evening. Nill and his staff entered the day with nine picks in seven rounds, including five of the first 68 selections. Like many drafts as they approach, this one was touted as the “next great one” and if that is any indication (it normally is not), the Stars were primed to really push their already burgeoning prospect pool to the boiling point.